Flashes & Floaters

Floaters can appear as black spots or something that looks like a hair or pieces of a cobweb. Floaters are very common and normally harmless. They may appear to float or move about in front of your vision. If you have had these for years your eye and your brain may learn to ignore them

Sometimes the number of floaters increases as you get older. Occasionally a sudden increase in floaters or a shower of tiny ones can be a sign of retinal detachment.

Flashes of light can be due to movement of the vitreous gel inside the eye. As you get older the vitreous gel becomes more liquid and collapses, pulling on the retina. These flashes tend to be at the extreme corners of your vision, come & go, and don’t obscure any part of your vision. The flashes don’t last for a defined length of time. Flashes can also occur if you are hit in the eye or have a knock to the head.

These are different to the shimmering or zig-zag lines that may be part of a migraine. These are often on only one side of your vision and expand to the outside of your vision with a sort of jagged pattern. This will often obscure at least part of your vision and the shimmers typically go away after 10-20 minutes, followed by a headache. Occasionally some people may get migraine shimmers but may not get any headache.

Very occasionally, flashes or an increase in floaters can be a sign of a retinal detachment, which needs treating as soon as possible.

If you have any new symptoms of flashes or floaters you should contact us immediately for advice. In some instances, depending on the severity and onset of the symptoms, we may recommend going directly to the local eye casualty hospital department rather than booking in for an eye test.